Between the lines More white lines have been painted up the length of Pine Street with no explanation whatsoever. Lanes for biking? Jogging? It’s like Nazca (look it up) all up in here. I swear, if you fly high enough above the city, all those seemingly random street lines will connect to spell out a […]
Mark LaFlamme
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Mark LaFlamme, The Franklin Journal
Street talk: From slacks to jeans: The evolution of reporter attire
The assignment was out in the woods of Durham at one of those houses that sits far back from the road. Dogs barked. Chain saws buzzed. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of a shotgun racking a round. It was raining and the yard was a minefield of deep puddles. I sloshed my way toward […]
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Street Talk: So, you want to be a job shadow
Here at the Sun Journal, we get requests all the time from people who are interested in following around a reporter on his or her daily rounds. Job shadow, we call the concept. It’s a term we made up ourselves and which you can never use without our permission. And don’t think we won’t notice […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Talk of the town: Space lizards are coming to eat your eyes
If Gov. Christie visits Lewiston Watch for traffic problems on the Longley Bridge. My apologies To Bill Lepack, the Livermore hippie whose name I defiled by inserting a capital P into it. In some cultures, the capital P represents respect and admiration. Don’t ask me where those cultures are because they don’t exist. Anyway, I’m […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Mark LaFlamme, The Franklin Journal
Street talk: Good news! Matilda is getting married!
Invariably, it works this way. It’s a random day in September and a lovely wife is opening the mail. Lovely wife: “Oh, look! My old friend from high school is getting married.” Husband: “How special. Say, do we have any Pringles?” Wife: “They’re having the ceremony on the seashore in May and the bridesmaids will […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Talk of the town: Dam you vile woman! And other important news
Person of interest The cause of a recent fire that destroyed a mobile home was described as the result of “human element” and investigators had developed a “person of interest” in the matter. Whenever you see this kind of ambiguous cop speak under my byline please know that every inch of my squishy reporter’s soul […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Mark LaFlamme, The Franklin Journal
Street Talk: Life’s a beach: Kelp in your shorts and other summertime fun
I’m so excited, I might faint at any moment. Soon — not today, not tomorrow and probably not at all in the month of May — it’s going to be sunny and warm again. Not just warm: hot! The kind of hot where even your tongue is sweating and everywhere you turn, you find someone […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Talk of the town: OMG! Ice out on Lake Auburn! OMG! OMG!
An important note on ants You will see that I have nothing but admiration for ants, and would like to vacation someday in one of their many fine colonies. That said, though, it’s important for me to point out that I want absolutely nothing to do with their form of government (or governmANT, if you […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Talk of the town: Assassins! Plus weather stuff.
Loony eclipse When the time finally came, 2 a.m. EST Tuesday morning, I was so incensed that clouds had moved in to hide the eclipse of the moon, I swore at the sky until I lost my voice. It was as though Maine herself was saying to us all: “So, you had a rough winter […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Mark LaFlamme
Street Talk: To the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump
Hey, you. Got a truck, or access to a truck? Nope. Dude ain’t got no truck. What about you? Got a truck? A trailer? Cargo van? Nope. Nothing of the sort. Times are hard. So, I’m downtown asking questions again. It turns out there aren’t a lot of people out there who have access to […]